Reflex hammer



Oct. 5, 1943. Y A, w, GRAY 2,330,882

' REFLEX HAMME: 4

Filed Jul'y 51, -1942 j; *4% d a 45 7 y 7* 6a @3 @flaw-53%,'

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Patented Oct. 5, 1943 I UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE REFLEX HAMMER l Alan W. Gray, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 31,` 1942, Serial No. 453,025

(Cl. 12S-2) y ronim.

My invention has to do lwith hammers. Its

presently preferred adaptation is as a reflex f hammer, such as is employed by physicians in making neurological examinations and for the purpose of making the invention understood, I shall describe it in that category since such hammers necessarily must be made relatively small and compact because they are usually carried in the pocket and ,when hammers of conventional` construction are so made, the helve or handle element is necessarily too' small to provide aV firm and effective hand grip for ecient use.

It is one of the principal objects of myinvention to provide a hammer which may be made of suilicientlysmall size to be conveniently carried and yet whose handle may be firmly and elTectively gripped when in use. I accomplish this purpose by providing a hammer embodying a laterally expansible handle.

I find, also, that by providing a handle of the construction hereinafter described and claimed, my reflex hammer is additionally rendered more useful as a tool for conducting neurologicalexaminations since the construction is conducive to `utilizing the handle portion to conduct other neurological tests such, for instance, as two-point discrimination tests and sensitivity tests.

For the purpose of making my invention understood, I shall now describe it inits presently preferred adaptation although,.as will appear from the appended claim, the invention in'its broader aspects is not to be confined to the details of construction and particular arrangement of parts hereinafter described. Moreover, froml the following description, it will be apparent that the invention possesses advantages additional to those hereinabove specifically mentioned.

In the following description, I shall refer to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the handle expanded;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, partly in section;

Fig. 4 is an end view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5, is a fragmentary View, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing a variational form.

Referring now to the drawing, 5 denotes the hammer head which is` provided with a rubber impact element 6 mounted in a recess 1... "I'he top-of the head is provided with a slot I0 'between K bifurcations I I, the slot .being provided to receive the inner ends of the arms I5 and I6 comprising the handle elements to be described. 1

As lbest shown in Fig. 2', one of the handle elements,` I5, has a straight bottom edge lim which rests against the bottom wall of theslot Il), while the otherhandle element I6 has a rounded inner end I6a so that it may be swung with respect to handle element I 5tabout the pivot pin I 8. Pin

When not in use thefhandle elements occupy y the position of Fig. l. When in use, the outer end of handle'element I6 is swung away from thel outer end of element I5 tothe extent desired to .expand the handle to the desired size (see Fig. 2i.

When not in use, the outerends of the handle elements are held against being sprung apart sidewise by means of Ya pin 2l! carried by bossi. I, the pin tting into a recess 22 in boss 23. Bosses 2| and 23 are secured to or formed integral with the sides of the respective handle elements I5, I6.

In addition to the functioning of my improved hammer for the purpose of taking reflex tests, its novel handle element, by virtue of its expansiloility and formation, alsomayV be employed as a vcombination tool to make other neurological tests. Forinstance, by ltouching the pointed end of the pin 20 against the patients skin, sensitivity tests may be made. Also, the relatively movable handle elementsY may be additionally employed for the purpose of makingtwo-point ydis.-

crimination tests of a patient at various meas-k ured points of separation, and to facilitate this I preferably form the outer ends of the handler elements I5, I6 into points 30, 3| (see Fig. 4) and I may graduate vthe sides of the handle elements as shown at 32 for use as a caliper in measuring the spacing of the pointsy in the discrimination tests. Here there is a pronged wheel 40 which is mounted to rotate about a pivot 4I disposed through bifurcations 42 formed integrally with the upper portion of the head. The lower portion of the head is formed by cap 45 trimmedl onto the upper portion and has a rubber impact element 6a mounted in a recess l'1a. In using this variational form for the purpose of conducting rapid sensitivity tests, the cap 45 is removed and the user may roll the pronged wheelM) over the skin surface of the patient.4 Y

I claim:` t A tool of the classdescribed comprising a head having a transverse slot through its top end, kra pair of parallel 'handle members Ahaving! their inner ends friction/ally fitting side by side in the slot, and a. cross pin through the body and extending transversely of 'v the slot through both handle members, the rst of the handle members being held stationary in the slot by the vpin and the second handle member having its inner end portion rounded whereby to be swingable about the pin relativeto the rst handle member.

' ALAN W. GRAY. 

